Who We Are
Girls’ Power Initiative is a not-for-profit feminist youth development organization and pioneer of sexual and reproductive health and rights education within Nigeria. We were founded in 1993 by Bene Madunagu and Grace Osakue to address the challenges facing girls between the ages of 10 and 18 in Nigerian society. We aim to equip girls with information, skills and opportunities for action in the hopes they will grow into empowered young women.
Beyond The Acronym – GPI
G = Girls
Girls’ Power Initiative addresses the unique challenges that women and girls face in a patriarchal Nigerian society and equips them with the necessary skills and tools to succeed and become fully empowered.
P = Power
Girls’ Power Initiative (GPI) aims to be at the forefront of the struggle to raise African womanhood from its age-long powerlessness in the family and society from vulnerability to empowerment through activism for social transformation.
I – Initiative
Initiative is the act of taking the first step to do something that must be done without being told. It is the ability to identify what is right and just. It enables one to recognize injustice and take action without waiting to be told what to do. It means setting one’s goal in life, having a vision and aspiring to reach one’s goal, taking practical and positive actions.
What is Empowerment?
Empowerment is feeling safe and comfortable in expressing what one thinks; in feeling happy, angry, sad, and asking for what one needs, knowing that everyone has the right to choice, privacy and respect. It is saying, NO, when you mean NO. It is acknowledging your inner strength and capabilities. It involves appreciating and admiring yourself and being sure of yourself. It is processes by which girls and women receive information that enables them to recognize and be conscious of their rights and hence act to defend and protect such rights. It involves courage, strength and conviction based on accurate information and analysis of life realities. Girls’ Power Initiative’s (GPI) empowerment program is aimed at making girls active participants in social action for the general good.
Power here means having the inner strength and capability to make things happen, acting from an informed position, and having strong convictions of what is right to overcome prejudices.